What’s on TV today, Nov. 30

What would the holiday season be without “A Charlie Brown Christmas”? Believe it or not, although it has become an annual classic, the show almost didn’t make it on the air 50 years ago. ABC marks the anniversary of the show with a special called “It’s Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown” at 8 p.m., followed by the 50th broadcast of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” itself at 9 p.m.

According to Lee Mendelsohn, producer of the original special, Coca-Cola called him in 1965 to see if there was a holiday special in the works. There wasn’t, but Mendelsohn called Peanuts creator Charles Schulz and ordered up “A Charlie Brown Christmas” for CBS. With a tight six-month schedule to get the show finished, Mendelsohn contacted composer Vince Guaraldi, who composed the “jazzy” score featuring the piano tune “Linus and Lucy,” which has become the musical signature of Peanuts.

Mendelsohn recounted the whole story of the show’s creation during a recent dedication of the Charle Brown Christmas stamps by the U.S. Postal Service.

CBS had reservations about the final product, but since the show was already listed, they had to air it. When they did, it snagged a 49 audience share, which meant that almost half of Americans who were watching TV that night watched “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

The first season fall finale of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” airs at 8 p.m. on the CW.

NBC opens its “Superstore” doors early by airing two episodes of the new sitcom at 10 p.m., prior to its official Jan. 4 premiere. The series stars America Ferrera and Ben Feldman as employees of a big-box store. Although the main focus is on the complicated, flirtatious relationship between Ferrera’s character and Feldman’s, the real comedy comes from the other misfits in the ensemble cast.

“Gotham: Rise of the Villains” airs its second season fall finale at 8 p.m. on Fox, followed by the first season finale of “Minority Report” at 9:00.